Lawrence Free State senior Cameron Clark has all eyes on him as he goes up for a shot Friday against Blue Valley in the Saints Classic semifinals at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Overland Park ? Free State junior Garrett Luinstra could only watch helplessly as the ball splashed through the net.

Blue Valley senior Tyler Geiman punctured the Firebirds’ sprits with one single stroke, as he nailed a 3-pointer right in front of his emphatic bench at the buzzer, to send the game into overtime. But it wasn’t until the second free period that Blue Valley ultimately knocked off FSHS, 82-76, in the semifinals of the Saints Classic at St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday.

“Give him credit, he is great player and hit a shot,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said. “I probably could have done something differently. But we still had chance to win the game. We will learn from it and move on.”

That something different was talked about in the timeout leading up to the final play in regulation.

Leading 63-60, Stroh pondered his options and considered fouling. But Luinstra had done an admirable job in the final minutes defending Geiman, who finished with a game-high 32 points. Instead, Stroh told his players to not let anybody catch it near the sideline.

However, that was easier said than done. With just over three seconds left, Geiman received the inbound pass from junior Gus Gomez near the left wing. Geiman moved further up with a couple quick steps before ultimately jabbing Luinstra and letting the ball fly as he drifted backwards to watch it fall in.

“You can’t leave him for a second, he’s a great player,” senior Shannon Cordes said. “EKL player of the year as a junior. All credit to him, he’s a great player.”

And yet, Free State had a chance to make Geiman’s heroics a forgotten memory.

In the first overtime, Blue Valley (7-2, No. 5 in 6A) and Free State (6-3, No. 9 in 6A) went back and forth, with neither team holding more than a three-point advantage. With the score tied, 73-73, FSHS turned to its go-to option in the waning moments.

Luinstra, who is averaging 18 points per game in five outings this calendar year, notched 15 points on the same number of attempts. But his pull-up jumper, which rattled around the rim to end the first overtime, may be the misfire that haunts him the most.

“I thought Garrett hit that one in overtime,” Stroh said. “But I loved our grit. Our kids showed a lot of toughness. It was a fun game.”

The Firebirds did not knock down a single shot from the floor in the second overtime, while the Tigers hit two quick early buckets to cease back control, something they had squandered away late in the fourth quarter.

With 6:05 to go in regulation, Geiman finished a layup in traffic, giving Blue Valley it’s largest lead of the contest at 15 points. However, Geiman bumped into senior Cameron Clark and proceeded to taunt him, before he was hit with a technical.

Cordes sunk both attempts from the free throw line, which helped jumpstart a ferocious comeback.

“Every time you are down double digits, you are looking for that spark to get you going,” Cordes said. “So that kind of helped. We got a steal and got a bucket and it got our fans into it and then it got our guys into it, which really helped.”

Following the technical, Free State stormed out to 23-3 run, capped by a baseline 3-pointer from junior Simon McCaffrey. His trey gave his team a 61-58 advantage with 1:33 left to play. It marked the team’s first lead since senior Jay Dineen intercepted the tip and took it in for a layup to open the game.

A trio of Free State players finished in double figures in a losing effort. Cordes led the way with 24 points on 13 shots, while Clark added 18 points. All of this without senior starter Jacob Pavlyak, who went down with an injury early in the game and did not return.

“Kids played their hearts out and that’s all you can ask for as a coach,” Stroh said. “They were disappointed after the game, which is good. It shows they care.”

Free State will play St. Thomas Aquinas (7-1, No. 1 in 5A) in the third-place game at 4:15 p.m. today.

FREE STATE (76)

Garrett Luinstra 6-15 2-4 15, Simon McCaffrey 3-6 0-0 8, Jay Dineen 2-5 1-5 5, Sloan Thomsen 0-4 0-0 0, Shannon Cordes 8-13 6-6 24, Cameron Clark 8-14 2-2 18, Jalan Robinson 2-4 0-1 4, Avant Edwards 1-2 0-0 2, Turner Corcoran 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 30-64 11-18 76.

Blue Valley (82)

Guz Gomes 6-12 6-7 18, Tyler Geiman 12-22 4-8 32, Cade Green 3-5 4-4 12, Harry Van Dyne 3-12 1-3 10, Siler Tschirhart 2-5 0-0 4, Will Hobson 0-1 6-6 6, Jack Deveney 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 26-59 21-28 82.